Help!: Which 135i to Buy

[dry_heat]

Originally Posted by the1andonly

"The salesman told me repeatedly that the car was in excellent shape, so I do have some ammo, if need be. I made it a point to ask about dents/dings and chips, and all he mentioned was that the shadowline trim was slightly discolored (I know this happens and I can address that with ease)."

you have it in writing...like an email?

Sadly, no, it's just my word against his. Hopefully it doesn't come down to it, as I know it's hard to prove anything without actual written evidence. Some oversights were definitely made on my behalf, this being perhaps the biggest one (or, rather, not having the car inspected by an objective third party).

No sense in fretting for now though! 48 hours and we'll see how things look. The windshield and the dent are my two biggest concerns, and one can easily be remedied if it comes down to it by making a claim with my insurance in a month or two. I have a feeling the windshield will be easy to get BMW to cover, though.

[ntwkcwby]

Hi all. I too am looking at a 2009 135i vert w/manual and sport package, 30K miles. It's a dealer car, CPO with warranty and they are asking ~35K. It is also listed as a manufacturers car, but I spoke with the service dept where it was first looked at and the guy said it was probably a BMW finance (dublin, OH) employee car.

That said, it seems a bit high, but also a decent ride given the manual. All the recalls have been taken care of.

Thoughts?

[dry_heat]

Originally Posted by ntwkcwby

Hi all. I too am looking at a 2009 135i vert w/manual and sport package, 30K miles. It's a dealer car, CPO with warranty and they are asking ~35K. It is also listed as a manufacturers car, but I spoke with the service dept where it was first looked at and the guy said it was probably a BMW finance (dublin, OH) employee car.

That said, it seems a bit high, but also a decent ride given the manual. All the recalls have been taken care of.

Thoughts?

I'd say that price is about $6,000 too high. My '09 was $28k, just under $31K OTD with my nice and high AZ tax rates. But it's loaded to the brim. If this one you are looking at just has the sport package and no other options, I'd maybe start by using that to try talking down the price. I've come to realize that BMW dealers will only go so far in the negotiation process on CPO cars, even when they overprice the vehicles.

I can't imagine KBB on that 1er vert is anything over $32k, tops. That's another chip you can try working with. Just because it was a BMW employee's car doesn't mean it's worth more or has been any better maintained than any other 1er.

[ntwkcwby]

Originally Posted by dry_heat

I'd say that price is about $6,000 too high. My '09 was $28k, just under $31K OTD with my nice and high AZ tax rates. But it's loaded to the brim. If this one you are looking at just has the sport package and no other options, I'd maybe start by using that to try talking down the price. I've come to realize that BMW dealers will only go so far in the negotiation process on CPO cars, even when they overprice the vehicles.

I can't imagine KBB on that 1er vert is anything over $32k, tops. That's another chip you can try working with. Just because it was a BMW employee's car doesn't mean it's worth more or has been any better maintained than any other 1er.

KBB says 33K. I also reposted this Q after seeing this happy little avatar:

[dry_heat]

Dear God the anticipation is killing me. The car should have been here yesterday or the day before, but now it's less than an hour away and it's driving me mad! I would have had it hours ago but the truck driver had the serpentine belt break on his truck sometime last night and he's spent all morning dealing with that at a grand distance of 11 miles from my house.

[dry_heat]

HAH! It finally arrived! Now I am at work and wishing I was in my car. This is painful.


I called the dealer about the chipped/cracked windshield since it was like that before it left the dealer. The salesman rudely said "No we will not replace that" and then proceeded to berate me about how after "all he did for me" I shouldn't be asking for anything more from him because "he sold it at wholesale." I told him that if he didn't want to help me out, perhaps BMW North America would see things my way, as I believe that the windshield should have been replaced when the car went through the CPO process, at which point he began ranting about how he would tell them how "difficult" I was (I think I used up all of 90 minutes of this guy's time through the entire deal and made very few requests. I think I was a pretty damn good customer, to be honest).

He cursed at me a few times, I stayed calm and collected, and after he insisted that it didn't have the crack when it left the dealer (my paperwork from shipping proves otherwise), he hung up on me after welcoming me to call his manager.

If anyone is interested, the dealer is Brian Harris BMW. I'll withhold the salesman's name for now.


So, that said, anyone have any thoughts on how to do this? I could wait a month and make a claim with my insurance for the windshield, but I don't really care to do that, as I feel this was the dealer's responsibility to replace. I am trying to decide between calling the sales manager first or calling BMW NA then calling him.

Personally, I think the salesman let the fact that I am young get to his head, and then used my youth to justify his rude behavior (I haven't been talked down to like that since grade school, and never by a stranger!).



Last notes-

There's no floor mats in this car. Shouldn't it have come with some?

Also... My comfort access is awesome but when I hold my finger on the handle to roll up the windows, all of them close except the driver one, which only goes up half-way and then goes back down. Wtf?


Also, expect pics by weekend's end!

[tracer bullet]

CPO would never let a cracked window go through. Not sure about floor mats, probably better off buying a set and forgetting about it as you already have the window to deal with from that dealer.

Try the manager at the dealership next then BMW NA and keep going. You shouldn't ever feel a dealer is rude, but if you do of course sometimes it could just be you. If the sales guy actually cursed at you then I'd say he's definitely fucked things up. Keep going until the windshield thing is made right, and if there's any freebies for the rest take them. But don't push for them.

What a crappy way to start. Things should turn around quick though once you get some drive time in.

[dry_heat]

It can't get much more unpredictable.

After almost 20 miles of driving, I've now got a SES light. The dealer shipped the car with 2 miles worth of gas left in it and I immediately drove the 3/4 mile it is from my house to the gas station. Filled up with AZ premium (91) and after doing some driving, I finally get a chance to open her up a bit, and I get this light. Idle gets noisy and acceleration becomes "shakey." I turn it off at the light, the light is gone after I start it again. I get on it just a bit again and after a few tries, the light comes on again. The acceration gets shakey again (almost like a slow vibration, like driving over warning treads on the side of the highway), and I pull into my driveway a block later. Idle sounds unhappy, just noisy but maintaining a relatively even engine speed.

I idle for a bit while I call BMW assist for the first time ever, and after a couple minutes, the idle sounds okay again but the SES light remains.

I've got an an appointment in the morning (thank god!), but dammit, I'm pissed! And bummed.

Glad it's all under full warranty.

[89alpinem3]

Otis?

[dry_heat]

Originally Posted by 89alpinem3

Otis?

Nope, haha. Nice seeing a Tucson local on here though!

[89alpinem3]

Hey im here in tucson, my buddy just got his vo 1mcoupe and i will have my 08 135 by the end of next month. Hit me up if you ever want to meet up.

[89alpinem3]

Friend of mine in town, his forum name is dryheat on azbmw thats why lol

[MPowerF1]

This whole story reminds me of when I tried to buy a 135i at Chapman BMW in AZ. The long story short is that I had a very similar experience when there were significant problems with the salesman who chose to be as rude as possible in trying to address them. He tried to claim that I offered to put $3k more down than I did. Imagine my surprise when I went to sign the paperwork! Following that all he would say is how I lied to him about the deal and how I'm completely wasting his time now. Unfortunately, I was a little unprepared and allowed myself to be taken advantage of but it should never come to that.

The good news is that manager seemed helpful and ended getting me a good deal. But I had to back out of the deal for other reasons unique to Arizona I knew nothing about. It is still a situation that I'll always remember which is I guess a good thing. I'd just try to handle it as best as you can and remember that once all this is sorted out one way or another, you'll have an amazing car to enjoy.

[89alpinem3]

Also, im the local cca chapter president and have some contacts at bmw na if you need them

[Jayda]

Sorry to read your story. I hope you get things worked out. This definitely should not happen in a CPO car. There is a list on the BMW north America website that identifies what should be checked on a CPO vehicle. Typically dings and rock chips are repaired as well. I bought my car as a CP0 and received the original carpeted mats that had been cleaned and a set of all weather mats too.

[dry_heat]

After snatching up an appointment Friday night for Saturday morning (despite the BMW dealer's service department being super busy and only staffed with two SAs), the service center identified a faulty injector as the cause of my SEL and the accompanying symptoms. The bad injector was replaced and I was on my way within 4 hours of drop off. I even managed to do some research on tinting and paint protection at a shop across the street and go with a friend of mine to check out some cars at a Honda and Subaru dealership.

All in all, a pretty successful day considering the gloomy ending to the day before that. It seems so perfectly fitting of my luck as of late late to end up getting a check engine light the exact same day I get the car. The same thing happened to me in my STI when I bought it (except it was just a bad gas cap).

The 1er is running GREAT now and has exceeded my anticipation of what ownership would be like. I was lighthearted chastised at the Subaru dealer for "going to the dark side," but DAMN it feels good, whichever side I am on.

Tomorrow, I may have to meander up the best 30 mile stretch of well-paved road in southern Arizona to get a better idea of how this car takes the turns and to get some high quality photos.

Needless to say, now that the SEL is taken care of, and the car is clean, and I've had a good evening with the car, I am a pretty damn happy camper. I had a good night out celebrating a buddy's birthday, and I meet a nice girl to top it all off.



Now I just have to take care of this windshield issue and the unacceptably rude customer service I received and I will officially claim victory over this entire segment of my recent life.

[Jayda]

Enjoy the car and get the windshield addressed!

[Section147]

Congrats! Enjoy the desert cruise tomorrow!

[89alpinem3]

Glad it got taken care of and that bmw of Tucson took good care of you. The new place looks great and there gm Michael has really turned the place around.

[Colt]

Alright I'm confused by the first page, I see the 2009+ had the n54 and the 2011 had n55? So what is the 2008's? That's what I have, a 2008 135i and I still am trying to figure out the engine name....sometimes I see E82, sometimes I see N54 when looking at parts/information. So which is it?

[tracer bullet]

E82 = car type, N54 = engine type. 2008 has N54.

[dry_heat]

Originally Posted by 89alpinem3

Glad it got taken care of and that bmw of Tucson took good care of you. The new place looks great and there gm Michael has really turned the place around.

Yeah, the new place looks great and the service was fantastic. I am so glad they were able to squeeze me in despite how packed they were! I managed to get a lot done and the SA who helped me out (Hope) was nothing shy of fantastic!

Very glad to find that our dealer is a good one... And NOT like the one I bought the car from.


Now tomorrow I get to make my phone calls to Brian Harris BMW and demand a new windshield, not to mention some type of apology from the client adviser I dealt with.